Group_Life_and_Group_Long_Term_Disability_(Addendum_#3_Revision).pdf

CITY OF TUCSON

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

240151

GROUP LIFE AND GROUP LONG TERM DISABILITY

Due Date: Wednesday, July 24, 2024

City of Tucson

255 W Alameda St

Tucson, AZ 85701

Procurement portal https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/tucson-az

Public Portal https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/tucson-az/projects/97422

PUBLISH DATE: June 20, 2024 https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/%7Bproject.government.code%7D https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/%7Bproject.government.code%7D/projects/%7Bproject.id%7D https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/%7Bproject.government.code%7D/projects/%7Bproject.id%7D

CITY OF TUCSON REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 240151

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 2 of 47 SHARED SERVICES PROCUREMENT DIVISION RESPONSIBLE CONTRACT OFFICER: Troy Rombough

255 W. ALAMEDA, 6TH FLOOR, TUCSON, AZ 85701 PH: (520) 837-4139

Attachments:

A - Offer and Acceptance

E - NON-DISCLOSURE_STATEMENT

F - Employee Leaves Directive 2-01-07

G - DEVIATIONS_EXCEPTIONS

H - Life Plan Design - Basic Life I - Endorsement Life Plan Design - Basic A J - Life Plan Design - Supplemental Life K - Endorsement Life Plan Design - Supplemental B L - Life Plan Design - Retirees M - LTD Plan Design N - Financial Workbook - Life and LTD RFP final O - Method of Approach Questionnaire updated 07022024 P - Qualifications and Experience Questionnaire

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 3 of 47

A. NOTICE

A.1. CITY OF TUCSON

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO 240151

TITLE: Group Life and Group Long Term Disability

SUBMITTAL DUE DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 2024 AT 2:00 P.M. LOCAL AZ TIME

PRE-SUBMITTAL CONFERENCE DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 2024

TIME: 9:30 am LOCAL AZ TIME

LOCATION: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YTk2OTEzYjQtYjhlOC00YTJhLTg1NzAtMWMzY2Y0OTg5YmFl%40thread.v2/0?

context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22d21e59ec-c208-43eb-aaf1-cf06d9a196e0%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b805a639-d2eb-45cf-98f6-49ad7eee5cc0%22%7d

QUESTIONS SHALL BE DIRECTED TO: Troy Rombough

(520) 837-4139 troy.rombough@tucsonaz.gov

Posted Date: Thursday, June 20, 2024

Competitive sealed offers for the material or service specified in this solicitation must be submitted through the City’s online bidding system. No late submitted offer will be accepted or considered.

Reponses submitted in physical form or by facsimile or email will not be considered. Offerors are cautioned to commence the submittal process sufficiently ahead of time to allow for unanticipated delays resulting from things like a slow internet connection, internet outage, difficulty uploading large documents, differing system requirements, etc.

Questions about this solicitation must be addressed to the responsible Contract Officer listed herein.

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B. INTRODUCTION

B.1. Summary

Intro:

The City is soliciting proposals from qualified individuals and organizations to provide:

• Fully insured group life insurance (Life) for City of Tucson employees and retirees and

• Fully insured group long term disability (LTD) for employees

The effective date of service will be July 1, 2025. Offerors must bid on both group life and group long term disability. Offers that include only Life or only LTD will not be considered. Offers to provide individual life or individual LTD policies will not be considered.

Please be aware that any resulting contract from this process will be net of commissions. Plans should be fully-experience-rated, non-dividend eligible contracts. Offerors must have integrated disability management capability.

The Hartford is the City’s current life and long term disability vendor.

Offeror must agree to integrate with Workday for Evidence of Insurability process and to bear the cost for the City to program new integrations. Failure to meet this criteria will result in the offeror being deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for evaluation.

Coverage must be offered under group policies. The City is not interested in offering outlined benefits on an individual basis. Failure to meet this criteria will result in the offeror being deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for evaluation.

B.2. Background

The City’s general services include, but are not limited to police and fire services, parks and recreation, street maintenance, transportation, solid waste management, water utility, and a broad range of administration, para-professional and professional municipal governmental activities and services.

Benefit information is available at https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits.

The City offers coverage to approximately 4,300 employees and 4,000 retirees.

Life

Current offerings include:

• City-paid Employee basic life

• City-paid Retiree basic life *

• City-paid Dependent basic life (child, spouse)

• Employee-paid Employee optional supplemental life

• Employee-paid Spouse optional supplemental life

* Retiree life is available to employees hired prior to January 1, 2016 https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits

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Conversion and waiver of premium are offered to employees who were hired before January 1, 2016.

Employees hired on or after January 1, 2016 are ineligible for portability but may be eligible for conversion.

Portability that is offered is currently split into two pools:

A. Starting July 1, 2017, employees under age 70 who were hired before January 1, 2016 elect portability through The Hartford's normal portability protocols. The City has no obligation for this group in the event of termination of the contract. The successful offeror for the contract starting July 1, 2025 must offer portability to employees under age 70 who were hired before January 1, 2016. Employees who elect portability under this pool will be the obligation of the successful offeror in the event of contract termination.

B. City of Tucson has a small, captive group of legacy portability policyholders whose policies were in place before July 1, 2017. This group is offered portability under a separate pricing structure, and must be tracked separately by the successful offeror. For this group, the successful offeror will be responsible for premium billing and collection, claims processing and payment, beneficiary designations, customer service to policyholders and beneficiaries, and periodic census reporting to the City. As of April 1, 2024, this group consisted of 84 policies (spouse or employee) with total coverage of $6,000,000 ("Direct Billing (Legacy Portability) Census" Exhibit).

Portability is not available to employees hired on or after January 1, 2016 or to employees age 70+.

Long Term Disability

Current offerings include:

• City-paid Basic long-term disability

• Employee-paid Buy-up LTD option

Other Employee Benefits

• Medical Insurance – The City of Tucson offers one Network (HMO-type) plan and two high-deductible health options - one with HRA and one with HSA. Prescription drug coverage is included in all plans. The City contributes toward medical insurance.

• Other Insurance includes Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, EAP, and voluntary portable individual policies (including short term disability). The City contributes toward dental;

others are employee-paid.

• Worker’s Compensation – The City’s Risk Management division manages the Self-Insured Workers Compensation Program. A third-party administrator has been contracted by the City to process workers’ compensation claims. If a leave of absence is accepted by the third-party administrator, due to the result of a work-related injury, the city supplements the statutory

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 6 of 47 benefits resulting in employees receiving their full salary for up to six months (1040 hours, 1456 hours for commissioned Fire personnel), per Tucson City Code section 2-13.

• Return to Work Policy – Upon completion of leave, employees return to their pre-injury positions unless their physical/mental limitations prohibit their return. In that case, the employee may request a reasonable accommodation in accordance with federal and state regulations. Employees who are unable to perform the essential functions of their position may be approved for up to one year of leave and/or light duty. If, after one year, the employee is unable to return to normal duties and was not approved for a reasonable accommodation that allows them to work in another capacity, the employee loses insurance eligibility.

• The City’s light duty program is available to all employees, with a preference given to employees whose light duty is a result of a work-related injury or who are in the accommodation process.

• Paid Sick Leave – 13 days annual accrual for civilian employees; accruals for commissioned police and fire employees increase to 15 days after 10 years and to 20 days after 15 years.

Accruals have no cap. Partial payment for unused sick leave at retirement if accruals are above 240 hours (civilian employees); commissioned police and fire employees receive partial to full payout on all hours, depending upon number of banked hours.

• Paid Vacation Leave – 13 to 26 days annual accrual based on length of service; maximum accrual 36 days (288 hours). Accrued hours are paid out upon retirement.

• Pension – All non-Public Safety, full-time City employees participate in the Social Security System as well as the City-administered defined benefit pension plan qualified under IRS Code Section 401(a). Public Safety employees (commissioned police and fire) participate in the State of Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System and do not participate in the Social Security system. The majority pay Medicare only, although a small subset also does not contribute to Medicare.

Disability Retirement

Tucson Supplemental Retirement System (TSRS)

City employees who are members of the Tucson Supplemental Retirement System with a minimum of ten (10) years accrued service and are totally and permanently disabled are eligible to apply for disability retirement benefits paid prior to reaching their normal retirement date. Board approval is required for commencement of benefits and additional verification may be required for continued eligibility until the member reaches normal retirement eligibility. A disability

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 7 of 47 retirement benefit is calculated using the same formula used for Normal Retirement Benefits. A description of the TSRS retirement plan is posted at https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits.

Public Safety Personnel Retirement System and Elected Official Retirement System

Description of the PSPRS and EORP retirement plan disability provisions are at https://www.psprs.com/public-safety-personnel/member/applying-for-disability and https://www.psprs.com/elected-officials/member/applying-for-disability, respectively.

The City policy on Retiree Health is available at https://oneteam.tucsonaz.gov/our_resources/forms/payroll/benefits~3/benefits_files/retiree_health_co ntinuation_ad_304_6pdf

The City policy on Leaves is available as attachment Employee Leaves Directive 2-01-07.

Attachments

• Non-Disclosure Statement

• Employee Leaves Directive 2-01-07

• Method of Approach Questionnaire

• Qualifications and Experience Questionnaire

• Financial Workbook - Life and LTD

• Deviations/Exceptions

• Life Plan Design - Basic Life

• Endorsement Life Plan Design - Basic A

• Life Plan Design - Supplemental Life

• Endorsement Life Plan Design - Supplemental B

• Life Plan Design - Retirees

• LTD Plan Design

Census, premium, experience, and claim data is available. To receive the following data, interested offerors must complete the Non-Disclosure Statement attachment and return the completed and signed statement to the City. The attached Non-Disclosure Statement contains specific return instructions.

Once the Non-Disclosure Statement has been received by the City, you will receive the following documents via Segal's secure email system:

https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits https://www.psprs.com/public-safety-personnel/member/applying-for-disability https://www.psprs.com/elected-officials/member/applying-for-disability https://oneteam.tucsonaz.gov/our_resources/forms/payroll/benefits~3/benefits_files/retiree_health_continuation_ad_304_6pdf https://oneteam.tucsonaz.gov/our_resources/forms/payroll/benefits~3/benefits_files/retiree_health_continuation_ad_304_6pdf

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 8 of 47

• Census - Life Benefit

• Census - Direct Billing (Legacy Portability) o Life Plan Design - Legacy Portability with Spouse Port Riders o Life Plan Design - Legacy Portability without Spouse Port Riders

• Census - LTD Benefit

• Premium Rate History - Life and LTD

• Experience - Life Reporting thru 3-31-24

• Experience - LTD Reporting thru 3-31-2024

• Claims - Life - Excluding GFLP class thru 3-31-2024

• Claims - Life - Grandfathered Legacy Portability (GFLP) class thru 3-31-2024

• Claims - Life - Premium Waiver Information

• Claims - LTD thru 3-31-2024

B.3. Contact Information

Troy Rombough Principal Contract Officer Email: troy.rombough@tucsonaz.gov Phone: (520) 837-4139 Department:

Business Services mailto:troy.rombough@tucsonaz.gov tel:(520)837-4139

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C. SCOPE OF WORK

C.1. COMBINED - LIFE AND LTD

The City is seeking to match the current plan design as detailed in the current Hartford Life (Life) and Long Term Disability (LTD) highlights posted at https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits, and in the "Plan Design" attachments. Any deviations to Life or LTD benefits must be detailed in the Vendor’s response on the “Deviations/Exceptions” attachment, stating the current language and the proposed deviation. If nothing is indicated on “Deviations/Exceptions” attachment it will be assumed your proposal matches the benefits, specifications, and terms and conditions exactly, even if you include material that states differently.

Offeror must agree to integrate with Workday for Evidence of Insurability process and to bear the cost for the City to program new integrations. Failure to meet this criteria will result in the offeror being deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for evaluation.

Coverage must be offered under group policies. The City is not interested in offering outlined benefits on an individual basis. Failure to meet this criteria will result in the offeror being deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for evaluation.

Premiums adjust in real time when an employee crosses an age band or has a change in salary.

C.2. Group- POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES CONTAINED HEREIN ARE SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION BY THE

CITY. Current policy information is posted at https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits.

INSURANCE CONTRIBUTION STRATEGY AND ELIGIBILITY

Employee Eligibility:

Employee eligibility is outlined in the Insurance Handbook at https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits.

New employees become eligible for coverage on the first day of the month following 30 days of employment. Employee, dependent and spouse life insurance ends at midnight on the last day of the month during which employees terminate or retire. Long term disability insurance ends at midnight on the last day of employment.

Life insurance coverage continues for 6 months following termination of employment for Executive City Attorneys, Executive City Managers and Executive City Clerks.

Retiree Eligibility (for Life Benefit only):

https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits

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Civilian City employees hired prior to January 1, 2016, and those retirees qualifying for normal or disability retirement, are eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision and Retiree basic life benefit plans; they generally qualify for a subsidy of medical premium. Retiree basic life is employer-paid. A normal retiree is defined as an employee who went directly from active employment to retirement status with the City.

Public Safety employees hired prior to January 1, 2016 are eligible to participate in medical and dental benefits either through the City of Tucson or State of Arizona, as well as in City of Tucson vision and Retiree basic life plans. They generally qualify for a state subsidy as well as a City subsidy of medical and dental premium. Retiree basic life is employer-paid.

OTHER INFORMATION/REQUIREMENTS

The City anticipates conducting open enrollment in May, 2025. However, actual dates are not established. Benefits will be effective July 1, 2025.

C.3. LIFE & LTD -GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Vendor’s plan(s) must include a minimum of those benefits included in the current benefit programs (e.g., covered services, frequency of service, etc.).

B. Vendor must accept City's self-bill and must accept payment 60 days in arrears. For example, July’s premium would be due August 29. Also, because the City determines eligibility, Vendor must accept the City's self-reported enrollment data and may not require the City to reconcile enrollment and associated invoicing details to Vendor data.

C. Vendor must provide coverage to all eligible employees, as determined by The City. The City determines eligibility for insurance coverage.

D. Vendor must agree to provide, at minimum, the current benefit levels for both Life and Long Term Disability, as reflected in the Plan Design attachments at the cost listed in the Price Proposal and Financial Workbook - Life and LTD, attached.

E. Vendor must agree to integrate with Workday for Evidence of Insurability process and to bear the cost for the City to program new integrations.

F. Vendor must cover all benefits from the effective date of the contract such that no employee currently insured will suffer a loss of coverage by virtue of a change in vendors other than by a change in plan design. No employee shall lose benefits because of transition issues.

G. Vendor will be required to begin implementation immediately upon award or at the direction of the City, and must participate as specified in this RFP in the open enrollment for coverage that will begin July 1, 2025. Open Enrollment generally occurs for two weeks in May; actual dates

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 11 of 47 will be determined in 2025. Vendor must participate in annual open enrollments or special enrollments as specified in this RFP and as directed by The City.

H. Vendor must maintain compliance with any Arizona Department of Insurance Regulations (R20-6-210 et al.), or laws pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes which may have applicability but have not been specifically set forth herein. Vendor must also supply, upon request by the City, verification of compliance with any regulation stipulated herein or pursuant to any state or federal law.

I. Vendor must be fully licensed to operate in Arizona and must be in compliance with all Arizona Department of Insurance Regulations.

J. Vendor must provide licensing verification within fourteen (14) days of written request from the City

K. Vendor must provide coverage for employees who are currently on approved leave of absence (See Employee Leaves Directive 2-01-07, attached, for leave policy) with or without pay, provided that premiums continue to be paid according to the City’s rules for the period of approved leave of absence. Neither the City nor the employee is responsible to pay premiums after the elimination period and for as long as benefits are payable under the plan.

L. Vendor must use employee addresses only for purposes designated by the City and must provide assurance that such information will remain confidential and will not be used for any purpose outside administration and maintenance of the City's life and long term disability plans.

M. All enrollment/communication materials shall be sent to employees via First Class mail unless another class of mail or form of delivery is authorized by the City Benefits Office.

N. Vendor understands and agrees that the Vendor must promptly notify the City (Benefits and Procurement teams) of any change in its ownership or control affecting 10% or greater interest, any acquisition by it of 10% or greater interest in any subsidiary, and any new agreement with, by or between any affiliates that is relevant to the contract.

O. No commissions are to be paid, nor included in the billing. If commissions cannot be removed dollar for dollar from your rates, the City would like you to make commissions payable to their consulting firm.

P. In the event of a long term disability claim, vendor determines eligibility and the appropriate amount of benefits. In the event of a life claim, the City will provide the vendor with information relating to the employee's elected amount of coverage.

Q. Coverage must be provided on a fully insured basis. The City is not interested in other funding arrangements.

R. Coverage must be offered under group policies. The City is not interested in offering outlined benefits on an individual basis.

S. Offshore Performance: Due to security and identity protection concerns, direct services under any subsequent contract shall be performed within the borders of the United States. Any services that are described in the specifications or scope of work that directly serve the City or its clients and may involve access to secure or sensitive data or personal client data or development or modification of software for the State shall be performed within the borders of

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 12 of 47 the United States. Unless specifically stated otherwise in the specifications, this definition does not apply to indirect or “overhead” services, redundant back-up services or services that are incidental to the performance of the contract. This provision applies to work performed by subcontractors at all tiers.

C.4. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE AND PROBLEM RESOLUTION

A. Vendor will institute a procedure for responding to and resolving enrollee complaints, disputes, and appeals regarding the appropriateness of treatment, utilization review decisions, problems with provider access, requests for change of providers, requests to obtain second opinions on disability determinations, and other matters concerning quality of care.

B. Vendor will inform enrollee about the availability of the dispute resolution process and provide them with forms with which to report problems needing resolution.

C. Vendor will respond to all complaints, disputes, and appeals promptly, according to time standards established by the City.

D. Vendor will endeavor to include enrollee representatives in the design and execution of the dispute resolution process as requested by the City.

E. Vendor shall also provide claim investigations and record these investigations. The City shall receive a report of these activities on a quarterly basis to show number of investigations conducted and the outcome.

F. When deemed necessary by the City, Vendor shall provide additional resources, at no additional cost to the City, should challenges or problems arise where the Vendor is unable to fulfill any requirements indicated in the Scope of Work.

C.5. CLAIMS

A. Claims must be paid in a timely manner pursuant to Arizona Department of Insurance regulations. Claims administration must meet the performance standards for accuracy, financial accuracy and timeliness. The claims system must have the capability to verify eligibility; verify eligible services; detect fraud and abuse; track information in various categories and formats; and determine benefits payable and issue payment.

B. Vendor must provide the following administrative services:

• A toll free fax number for claims submissions.

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• Receive claims and process payments of benefits in accordance with the plan designs for all claims incurred

• Correspond with participants if additional information is necessary to complete the processing of claims

• Create a claim file for each claim. The claim file must be maintained on computer media for at least (5) years or for such time as may be required by law, whichever is longer.

• Evaluate claims to determine if they have been properly filed and notify claimants within 7 days of receipt of claim information of any additional information which is necessary to adjudicate a claim.

• Determine benefits payable under the Plan, pursuant to the terms and conditions as detailed in the current Hartford Life and LTD highlights and booklets posted at https://tucsonaz.gov/benefits, and in Plan Design attachments.

• Apply claims control procedures necessary for the effective administration of the plan.

• Investigate claims in which charges appear higher than usual.

• Timely notify participants of delayed claim payments caused by duplicate coverage or an error or omission in claim payment documentation.

• Provide W2 and 1099 forms, if needed

• Respond within one working day to any inquiry from the City benefits supervisor, manager or designated staff regarding the disposition of pending claim.

C.6. CLAIM DENIAL

• Vendor must follow regulatory guidelines, as appropriate, for claim denials.

• Vendor must provide notice to the Participants regarding the reason(s) for denial of benefits (which are denied) and provide for the review of such denied claims

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C.7. CLAIM APPEAL

When a claim has been denied, or paid in part, the insured shall have the ability to file an “appeal”. The appeal process must be detailed in Vendor’s benefits booklets, to be posted on the City’s Benefits website.

C.8. AUDIT

A. The City reserves the right to audit the Vendor’s claims payment and eligibility records with reasonable notice by the City's selected auditor.

B. The Vendor shall cooperate with the auditor(s) and will provide records as requested with no additional fee to the City.

C. The City may also audit the Vendor’s records relating to specific performance standards as outlined. These shall include but are not limited to the following topics:

• Eligibility

• Staffing of customer services department

• Claims administration in terms of processing accuracy, financial accuracy and timeliness

• Appeals/grievance

• Quality Assurance Program

C.9. CUSTOMER SERVICE

A. The Vendor must provide a designated Account Manager and Account Management Team

B. The Vendor must provide a toll-free telephone line for claim inquiries staffed for answering inquiries at, a minimum, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Arizona time (Monday through Friday) exclusive of Governmental Holidays.

C. The Vendor must communicate such toll-free number on the claim forms for easy access and usage by the employee.

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C.10. SUBCONTRACTORS

The Vendor must identify use of any subcontractors in the provision of required services. All subcontractors must comply with the Offshore Performance requirements of the General Requirements, item "S".

C.11. STAFFING

A. The Vendor must maintain a full service staff to assist with inquiries, correspondence, unusual situations or problems and complaints of the City.

B. The Vendor, at the request of either party, must meet with representatives of the City as requested by the City.

C.12. ELIGIBILITY AND OPEN ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES FOR INCREASING

COVERAGE / EOI

A. Requirements surrounding coverage and EOI:

• Newly eligible employees are guaranteed issue at all levels of coverage during their initial enrollment period.

• After enrollment during the initial eligibility period, employees who wish to increase to a higher coverage tier may request to do so during the annual open enrollment period (to be determined by the City), subject to Vendor approval based on Evidence of Insurability.

• Although increasing coverage mid-year due to qualifying life events is not currently an option under the City's benefits program, the City may wish to add this option at a future time during the life of the contract, at no additional cost to the City.

• Employees who are enrolled in Supplemental Employee Life, Supplemental Spouse Life, and/or Buy-Up LTD do not need to provide Evidence of Insurability (EOI) to continue their elected coverage tier(s), even if their salary increases.

• Employees may reduce coverage the first of any given month following the date the Benefits team receives their reduction request.

• Vendor must agree to accept all Evidence of Insurability applications (EOI) via an online system that is provided and maintained by Vendor.

• Vendor must integrate with Workday to receive employee demographic, pay, and enrollment data.

• Vendor must provide single-sign-on to the Vendor’s EOI system from Workday, allowing employees who are required to complete EOI the ability to do so as part of their Workday enrollment process.

• Vendor must return EOI decisions via an integration back to the City's Workday enrollment system.

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• It is the City's strong desire that employees who wish to increase coverage must initiate the Vendor's EOI process no later than June 30 each year, allowing for the majority of decisions to be returned to the City prior to July 1.

• Vendor must remove employees who fail to begin the EOI process by the designated deadline from consideration for increased coverage. Employees may submit a new request during a subsequent open enrollment period if removed from consideration.

• Employees who complete the Vendor’s EOI application by the designated deadline (June 30) will be granted additional period of time outlined by the City (typically 30-60 days) to comply with additional requests for information before Vendor declines the employee’s EOI record due to lack of response.

• The City of Tucson will determine the deadline for the completion of EOI and will notify vendor of the deadline to be configured into the Vendor's EOI process.

• Vendor agrees to participate with the City and Workday to build the required integrations at no additional cost to the employee or the City.

• Open Enrollment is usually conducted during May of each contract year in advance of the July 1 effective date.

• The City will determine each year whether a positive or passive open enrollment will be conducted.

B. Vendor must comply with the following open enrollment procedures:

• Vendor must conduct an orderly transition for an implementation date of July 1 of each contract year for Active employees (life and LTD) and retirees (life only).

• Vendor must provide the necessary staff for planning, transition, implementation, open enrollment and ongoing administration of the plan.

• Vendor must provide sufficient knowledgeable personnel to attend 2-3 full days of scheduled informational and enrollment meetings during open enrollment periods. Such meetings shall may be scheduled throughout the City. Meeting locations may be determined based on the number of changes to the current program that will require plan education. Vendor may be responsible for brief presentations, and must be available to answer questions.

C.13. REQUIRED MEMBERSHIP MATERIALS

Vendor must supply the following communication materials to the City at no additional cost:

A. Vendor must provide bilingual printed and electronic marketing material in support of the Life and LTD benefit program. Materials will be used during open enrollment and throughout the year. Potential uses include but are not limited to inclusion in new hire packets and posting on

BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT Page 17 of 47 the City’s benefits website. Vendor must supply requested material to the City and/or its employees, at least thirty (30) days prior to open enrollment, or within 14 days, if requested at other times throughout the year (for example, when existing supplies are depleted)

B. Vendor must provide a sufficient number of copies of booklets / certificates of coverage of its plan(s), in understandable language, for distribution to all current and anticipated members.

C. The City shall review and approve all communication material prior to distribution by Vendor to participants.

C.14. PLAN MEMBER, COMMUNICATION MATERIAL, ADVERTISEMENTS AND

MARKETING MATERIAL

Vendor must submit copies to the City and receive approval for all plan member communication materials and promotional materials prior to distributing to plan participants.

C.15. REPORTS

A. Vendor must submit required reports to the City within thirty (30) calendar days after the end of the month for monthly reports, within forty-five (45) calendar days after the end of the quarter for quarterly reports and within ninety (90) calendar days after the end of the plan year for annual reports.

B. The following reports shall be provided by the Contractor and The City reserves the right to request any additional reports as needed at no additional charge.

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C.16. UNDERWRITING INFORMATION

ELIGIBILITY CENSUS AND CLAIMS REPORTS

To obtain the following information, please complete the Non-Disclosure Statement attachment, and email it to Troy Rombough at troy.rombough@tucsonaz.gov. Your contact information will then be provided to Segal, who will forward you, via secure email, the following information. The Non-Disclosure statement must be submitted before information can be released.

• Census - Life Benefit

• Census - Direct Billing (Legacy Portability) o Life Plan Design - Legacy Portability with Spouse Port Riders o Life Plan Design - Legacy Portability without Spouse Port Riders

• Census - LTD Benefit

• Premium Rate History - Life and LTD

• Experience - Life Reporting thru 3-31-24

• Experience - LTD Reporting thru 3-31-2024

• Claims - Life - Excluding GFLP class thru 3-31-2024

• Claims - Life - Grandfathered Legacy Portability (GFLP) class thru 3-31-2024

• Claims - Life - Premium Waiver Information

• Claims - LTD thru 3-31-2024

C.17. LTD - MINIMUM BENEFITS, TRANSITION, AND PERFORMANCE

GUARANTEES

A. Vendor must, in the event of a future change in carriers, assume responsibility for any claims incurred with a date of occurrence within the term of the contract; whereby, all disability payments will be made to the disabled employee for the entire period of disability or the balance of the period of the disability, whichever occurs later.

B. Vendor’s “actively at work” requirements must not deviate from the current definition as written in the current Hartford Booklet posted on the Disability page at https://tucsonaz/gov/benefits.

The Vendor will be responsible for all new disability claims, regardless of reported or unreported, for those eligible employees not at work on the effective date of coverage.

C. Employees must exhaust all sick, vacation, and comp time before long term disability benefits become payable.

mailto:troy.rombough@tucsonaz.gov https://tucsonaz/gov/benefits

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D. Vendor must maintain performance standards and performance guarantees relating to all services provided as requested in the LTD Benefits - Performance Standards attachment. In addition, Vendor shall state Performance Guarantees in accordance with the Proposal Evaluation Requirements, herein.

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D. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

D.1. DEFINITION OF KEY WORDS USED IN THE SOLICITATION

For purposes of this solicitation and any subsequent contract, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

City:The City of Tucson, Arizona

Contract:The legal agreement(s) executed between City and the Successful Offeror(s). The Contract will be deemed to include all the conditions and requirements set forth in this solicitation and any Addenda to the solicitation, all the Special Terms and Conditions and Standard Terms and Conditions, and all the terms of the Offer submitted by Offeror as finally negotiated and accepted by the City.

Contractor/Consultant:A Successful Offeror that enters into a Contract with the City.

Contract Representative:The City employee or employees who have been designated to act as the City contact for this solicitation process and who are responsible for monitoring and overseeing the Contractor's performance under the Contract.

Business Services Director:The contracting authority for the City, authorized to sign contracts and addenda thereto on behalf of the City.

May: Indicates something that is not mandatory but permissible.

May not:The indicated party is prohibited from taking the action.

Must: The action or condition is required.

Offer:Any proposal, statement of qualifications, bid, or other submission provided by an Offeror in response to this Solicitation.

Offeror: Each individual or entity that submits an Offer in response to this solicitation.

Successful Offeror: An Offeror who received a Notice of Award or a Notice of Intent to Award from the City.

Will:The indicated party is promising to take the action or abide by the condition.

D.2. PRE-SUBMITTAL MEETING

A Pre-Submittal Meeting will be held at the date and time stated on the cover page of this solicitation, if such a date and time is provided. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but written minutes and/or notes regarding the meeting will NOT be provided, so attendance is encouraged. The purpose of this meeting will be to clarify the contents of this solicitation in order to prevent any misunderstanding of the City's position.

D.3. INQUIRIES

Any questions about this solicitation or the proposed Contract must be presented at the Pre-Submittal Meeting, if there is one (see above), or submitted in writing, via email, or through the online bidding system, to the Contract Officer by the Question Submission Deadline. The email must refer to the solicitation number and the paragraph number of the provision that the question concerns. The Contract

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Officer may respond by email or may, if they deem it appropriate, address the question in a solicitation addendum or response through the question and answer portal in the online bidding system. Offeror may not rely on oral interpretations or clarifications about the solicitation; only questions answered in an email by the Contract Officer, posted through the online bidding system, or posted as a formal solicitation addendum will be binding.

D.4. ADDENDUM OF SOLICITATION

Solicitation Addenda will be posted on the City’s link to the online bidding website. Offeror is responsible for checking the webpage regularly for new solicitation addenda and must acknowledge each addendum to this solicitation in its submittal. Please note that vendors who have registered with the Business Services Department at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tucson-az and follow the City of Tucson will receive email notifications of solicitation addenda.

D.5. UNDERSTANDING SCOPE OF WORK

Before submitting an Offer to this solicitation, Offeror must familiarize itself with the Scope of Work, laws, regulations, physical conditions, and other factors affecting the obligations – including the expense and difficulty of fulfilling those obligations – that Offeror will have under the Contract if awarded to Offeror. No adjustment to the financial or other terms of the Contract will be justified by Offeror’s failure to fully understand or appreciate the Contract requirements or other factors affecting Contract performance.

D.6. PREPARATION OF OFFER

A. Form and Organization. If Offer forms are included in this Solicitation, Offeror’s Submittal must be on those forms. Supporting documentation must be arranged in a manner that follows and clearly refers to corresponding sections of the solicitation. Offeror may copy the submittal forms in order to complete them electronically but may not alter or rearrange them or change any paragraph designations.

B. Confidential Information. Any information in its submittal that Offeror wishes to be treated as confidential must be clearly marked “CONFIDENTIAL.”

C. Offer Contents. Offeror’s submittal must contain responses to all sections of this solicitation, any Offer forms provided must be completed and any requested supporting documentation must be attached.

D. Signatures. Offeror must include in their submittal signed copies of the Offer and Acceptance page. Any cover letter accompanying the proposal documents must be signed. Offeror must initial each erasure, interlineation or other modification in the submittal. The person signing and initialing on behalf of Offeror must be a person authorized to legally bind Offeror.

E. Prices. Where a unit price is provided it will govern over any erroneous extension of the price.

F. Time Periods. Periods of time, stated as a number of days, will be calendar days unless specifically stated otherwise.

G. Accuracy. Mistakes in preparation of its submittal confers on Offeror no right to modify or withdraw its submittal after the Submittal Deadline.

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tucson-az

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H. Cost of Preparation. The City will not reimburse Offeror for the cost of developing, presenting, submitting or providing any response to this solicitation.

I. Subcontractors. Offeror must, in their submittal, list any subcontractors that it will utilize in the performance of the Contract if they are awarded the Contract and must describe their qualifications in detail.

J. Incomplete Information. Failure to include all requested information may have a negative impact on the evaluation of Offeror’s submittal.

D.7. PAYMENT DISCOUNTS

Payment discount periods shall be computed from the date of receipt of the material/service or correct invoice, whichever is later, to the date City’s payment warrant is mailed. Unless freight and other charges are itemized, any discount provided shall be taken on full amount of invoice. Payment discounts of twenty-one calendar days or more shall be deducted from the proposed price in determining the price points. However, the City shall be entitled to take advantage of any payment discount offered by a vendor provided payment is made within the discount period. The payment discount shall apply to all purchases and to all payment methods.

D.8. TAXES

The City is exempt from federal excise tax, including the federal transportation tax, but is not exempt from any other taxes, including state and local sales and excise taxes.

D.9. EXCEPTIONS TO CONTRACT PROVISIONS

By submitting an offer in response to this solicitation, Offeror is offering to enter into the Contract with the City. If Offeror wishes to modify any Contract terms and conditions, Offeror must, in its Offer, clearly identify the changes it is requesting. No requested modification will be deemed accepted by the City unless and until the City’s Business Services Director or their designee expressly accepts it in writing.

D.10. PUBLIC RECORD

Any documents submitted by Offeror in response to this solicitation will become the property of the City.

Except as set forth below with respect to Confidential Information, the Submittal will be deemed to be a public record available for review by the public after the award notification.

D.11. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

The City is obligated to abide by the Arizona Public Records Law, A.R.S. §§ 39-101 through 39-161. If Offeror believes that any portion of its Offer, specification, protest or correspondence contains information that is confidential and subject to being withheld from disclosure in the event that the City receives a public records request to which the record is responsive, Offeror must, when the record is submitted, provide the Contract Officer written notification of that fact. The records or portions of records that Offeror wishes to be treated as confidential must also be clearly marked “CONFIDENTIAL” on their face. Pricing will not be treated as confidential.

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If the City, after award notification, receives a public-records request the scope of which includes a document submitted by Offeror and marked "CONFIDENTIAL", the Contract Officer will make a written determination regarding whether the document will be provided to the requestor. If the Contract Officer determines that the document should be released, City will notify Offeror in writing. Unless Offeror, within 10 days after the date of that notice, obtains and provides to City an order from a court of competent jurisdiction prohibiting the City from releasing the documents, the City may release the documents without any liability to Offeror.

D.12. WHEN AND HOW TO SUBMIT OFFERS

In order to be considered, Offeror must, no later than the Offer Submittal Deadline, submit its Offer electronically through the City’s online bidding system:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tucson-az

NOTE: THE ENTIRE OFFER MUST BE IN "“SUBMITTED"” STATUS IN THE CITY’S ONLINE

BIDDING SYSTEM IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED. RESPONSES THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED

IN THE SYSTEM, BUT THAT ARE NOT IN "“SUBMITTED"” STATUS BY THE OFFER SUBMITTAL

DEADLINE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

D.13. CERTIFICATION OF NONCOLLUSION; CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Offeror will not communicate, orally or in writing, with any member of the Mayor and Council, or with any City staff outside the Procurement Division of the Business Services Department, regarding this Solicitation. By submitting an Offer, Offeror warrants that:

A. Preparation and submission of the submittal did not involve collusion or other anti-competitive practices.

B. Offeror has not given, offered to give, nor intends to give at any time hereafter, any economic opportunity, future employment, gift, loan, gratuity, special discount, trip, favor, meal or service to a public servant in connection with this solicitation.

C. No person has been employed or retained to solicit or secure a Contract under this solicitation upon a promise of a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee.

D. No employee of the City involved in this Solicitation process, or any family member of such an employee, has any substantial financial interest in Offeror’s firm. No member of the City of Tucson Mayor and Council who has, or whose family member has, any substantial financial interest in Offeror’s firm will participate in any action taken by the Mayor and Council with respect to this Contract. The terms “relative” and “substantial interest” have the meanings assigned in A.R.S. § 38-502

The City may disqualify Offeror from further participation in the solicitation process if the City determines that any City employee or official involved in this Solicitation process has an actual or apparent conflict of interest or if Offeror has engaged in any collusion or anti-competitive practices.

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D.14. WITHDRAWAL OF OFFER; BINDING OFFER

By submitting an Offer in response to this Solicitation, Offeror is offering to enter into the Contract with the City. Offeror may withdraw a submitted Offer at any time prior to the Offer Submittal Deadline.

Telephonic or oral withdrawals are not effective.

Offeror cannot withdraw an Offer that is in “submitted” status as of the Offer Submittal Deadline unless the Director of the Business Services Department consents in writing to the withdrawal. The Offer will be irrevocable for 90 days after the Offer Submittal Deadline.

D.15. DISCUSSIONS

The City may, at its discretion, conduct discussions with Offeror for the purpose of eliminating minor irregularities, informalities, or apparent clerical mistakes in Offeror’s submittal in order to clarify the offer and assure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, solicitation requirements.

D.16. VENDOR REGISTRATION; BUSINESS LICENSE

In order to be eligible for award of a Contract, Offeror must:

A. Register with the City’s Business Services Department. Registration can be completed at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tucson-az

B. Obtain a City of Tucson Business License or a written determination from the City's Business License Section that a license is not required. For questions contact the City's Business License Section at

(520) 791-4566 or email at license@tucsonaz.gov mailto:license@tucsonaz.gov

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E. OFFER EVALUATION AND CONTRACT AWARD

E.1. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA – (listed in relative order of importance)

A. Method of Approach

B. Qualifications & Experience

C. Price Proposal

E.2. INTERVIEWS

The City may interview some or all of the offerors at any point during the evaluation process. If interviews are conducted, information provided during the interview process will be taken into consideration in the evaluation process. The City will not reimburse the Offeror for any costs Offeror incurs during its participation in the interview process.

E.3. ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS

The City may undertake any additional investigations it deems appropriate to evaluate the competence and financial stability of any offeror.

E.4. OTHER INFORMATION

Information that evaluation committee members have about an offeror beyond what is provided in the offeror’s Offer may be taken into consideration during the evaluation process.

E.5. PRICE

A. Tax Offset Policy. If applicable under Section 28-18(6) or Section 28-17(7)(d) of the Tucson Procurement Code, the City will include the amount of all business privilege taxes other than the City’s in evaluating the pricing component of each Offer.

B. Payment Discounts. Any discounts offered by Offeror for payments made within 21 calendar days or more will be deducted from the proposed price in evaluating an offeror’s pricing.

However, the City may take advantage of any early- or timely-payment discounts offered by a vendor. Any proposed payment discount will apply to all purchases and to all payment methods

E.6. CITY’S RIGHT TO WAIVE DEFECTS OR REJECT OFFERS

Notwithstanding any other provision of this solicitation, the City may:

A. Waive any immaterial defect or informality; or

B. Reject any or all submittals, or portions thereof; or

C. Reissue the solicitation.

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E.7. CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

At the City’s discretion, it may negotiate with one or more responsible offerors to agree upon the final conditions, terms and price of the Contract. In doing so, the City will treat offerors fairly and will not disclose to any offeror information from responses submitted by other offerors. Exclusive or concurrent negotiations do not constitute a contract award and do not confer any rights to the offerors participating in such negotiations.